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Lafayette, Alabama

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the La Fayette census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36862. The Survey maps it on the Lafayette quadrangle. 2,684 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 843 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Lafayette within Chambers County

On record in Lafayette

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Lafayette fell from 3,003 to 2,684 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20103,003
20202,684-319 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Photographs

1 photograph,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Andrews House, South Lafayette Street (U.S. Route 431), Lafayette, Chambers County, AL
Andrews House, South Lafayette Street (U.S. Route 431), Lafayette, Chambers County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

93 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 93 fires within 5 miles of Lafayette between 1994 and 2019, burning about 456 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning41
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Arson/incendiarism14
Recreation and ceremony6
Equipment and vehicle use6
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Smoking4
Natural1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
25 September 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20160925-15
18 September 2005Debris and open burning2.5 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 2019Debris and open burning10 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190916-12
16 September 2010Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
15 September 1998Smokingunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 1998Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
10 September 2002Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 August 2011Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionEAST OF LAFAYETTE, AL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Chambers County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Lafayette: 3 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Aluminum, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Unnamed OccurrenceAluminum, ClayOccurrence1982
Unnamed OccurrenceAluminum, ClayOccurrence1982
Unnamed OccurrenceAluminum, ClayOccurrence1982

Every working recorded in Chambers County

Storms near this place

47 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lafayette in 47 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 25 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
March 1994Tornado (F1)Lafayette$500,000A barn was demolished, a roof blown off a porch, damage to two houses, and numerous trees blown down in Chambers County. The damage occurred in an area running west to east south of Highway 50 from about three miles east of the Highway 50/county line to the Chambers County Public Lake.
September 1994Thunderstorm WindLafayette$500,000Thunderstorm wind was believed to be responsible for damage to four houses just off U.S. Highway 431 about three miles north of Lafayette in the Buffalo community. People reported a sound like a freight train when the damage occurred.
November 2006Tornado (F0)Lafayette$50,000The tornado briefly touched down about three-quarters of a mile north of Lafayette. Numerous large trees were knocked onto a home at the intersection of US 431 and State Highway 77. Several sheds were destroyed and a large trailer was blown over.
March 2005HailLafayette$14,000The supercell continued along its northeastward path and dropped hail across northern Chambers County. The largest hail reported was golf ball size.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindLafayette$10,000Trees were blown down at several locations around Chambers County. A few vehicles were damaged by the fallen trees.
April 1998HailLafayette$10,000no account filed
December 1996Thunderstorm WindLafayette$10,000no account filed
April 1997HailLafayette$8,000Golf ball size hail was reported in Lafayette, in the central part of the county.
June 1997HailLafayette$6,000Golf ball sized hail was reported by the EMA.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindLafayette$5,000Numerous large trees were blown down in the southern portion of the county.
March 2003HailLafayette$5,000Golf ball size hail was reported in Lafayette.
February 1999Thunderstorm WindLafayette$5,000Trees were downed along US 431 in Chambers County.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindLafayette$5,000A few trees were down in the Five Points area of Lafayette.
April 1998HailLafayette$5,000no account filed
January 1997HailLafayette$5,000no account filed
July 2005Flash FloodLafayette$4,000Several roadways near Lafayette were flooded and temporarily impassable.
March 2002HailLafayette$3,000Golfball size hail was reported south of Lafayette near the Chambers and Lee county line.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindLafayette$2,000Several trees were blown down around the city of Lafayette.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindLafayette$2,000A few trees and several large limbs were blown down near AL-50, west of Lafayette.
January 2001Thunderstorm WindLafayette$2,000One large tree was knocked down and blocked CR 289. The tree caused damage to a fence and a pole.
June 1998HailLafayette$2,000Quarter size hail was reported in Lafayette.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindLafayette-A metal building was blown onto Highway 431, and trees were downed in multiple locations around Lafayette.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Trees were reported down at LaFayette High School, along 2nd Avenue, and along U.S. Highway 431 near LaFayette. Social media video and photos showed a tree that fell on a vehicle in LaFayette. The occupant escaped without injury. Another tree was downed on CR 102 just north of town as well.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in Lafayette.
March 2023HailLafayette-Tennis ball size hail reported on the southeast side of Lafayette.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Numerous trees uprooted and power lines downed in Lafayette. Numerous trees uprooted reported countywide.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Lafayette.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Several trees uprooted in the town of Lafayette.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Numerous trees uprooted across the eastern portion of the county.
June 2014Flash FloodLafayette-A garage and property around a home flooded. Radar estimated 4.5 inches of rain.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Trees were reported down in the city of Lafayette, causing numerous power outages.
May 2006HailLafayette-Golf ball sized hail was reported in the Oak Bowery community.
February 2005HailLafayette-Penny size hail was observed in the city of Lafayette.
August 2005HailLafayette-Penny size hail was reported near Lafayette.
December 2005HailLafayette-Quarter size hail was reported just north of Lanett and West Point along the west side of West PointLake.
December 2005HailLafayette-Penny size hail was observed near the Trammel Crossroads community.
June 2001HailLafayette-Dime size hail fell from just west of Lafayette to Lanett.
April 1998HailLafayette-Dime size hail was reported in Lafayette.
April 1995HailLaFayette-Quarter-size hail was reported at Standing Rock in northeast Chambers County.
April 1995HailLafayette-Golf ball-size hail was reported in south-central Chambers County through the Lee County Emergency Management Agency.
May 1994HailLafayette-Large hail was reported near Lafayette in central Chambers County.
June 2010HailLafayette-no account filed
July 2008HailLafayette-no account filed
April 2007HailLafayette-no account filed
March 2006HailLafayette-no account filed
July 2005Tornado (F0)Lafayette-no account filed
April 1998HailLafayette-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Chambers County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Buffalo3.2 miles13
Rollins3.4 miles13
Moorefield5.6 miles12
Boyds5.7 miles12
Denson5.7 miles13
Wards Mill5.8 miles13
Marcoot6.2 miles13
White Plains6.4 miles13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on LafayetteAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79492The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 164071. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.